Red Sox Make Decision On White House Visit

BOSTON, MA — The World Series champion Boston Red Sox will visit President Donald Trump's White House, the team announced Monday night. Team President Sam Kennedy said the logistics have yet to be worked out, but the Red Sox will not be among professional sports teams who have rejected an invitation - or have not been invited in anticipation of a rejection.

It's customary for the championship-winning team in major professional sports leagues to be honored in Washington, but it's been a coin flip in recent years with Trump in the White House.

It's unclear if any Red Sox players or staff will not accompany the team.

The Red Sox have largely avoided major Trump-related drama, but no championship team stays scot-free of the president and his Twitter account.

Red Sox owner John Henry also owns The Boston Globe, which has had a back-and-forth with Trump. Earlier this year, the paper organized an editorial response against Trump's "dirty war on the media." In 2016, the paper published a false front predicting a frightening Trump presidency before he was elected.

Sox manager Alex Cora spoke up after Trump tweeted in September that Democrats inflated the death toll in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, which killed thousands. Cora, the team's first Puerto Rican manager, said he respected Trump, "but I don't agree with a lot of stuff that he says about us."

Most of the Houston Astros went to the White House after winning the World Series last year. Cora was a bench coach on that team.

The Red Sox have been generally quiet about President Trump, as his Twitter tirades often don't intersect with baseball. He did tweet about Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill exiting Saturday's Game 4 performance, something the lefthander from Milton, Mass., didn't appreciate.

Reliever Heath Hembree was said Sunday night he was looking forward to visiting on a video making its way around the internet, but celebration night quips aren't exactly official statements.
J.D. Martinez, the team's most prodigious slugger, was caught up in a somewhat political controversy when old Instagram photos were unearthed. One 2012 post was a meme featuring the text, "Obama will grab the early lead Tuesday, until the Republicans get off from work." Martinez added, "Love it!"

He avoided the questions that followed, saying he's "not a politician."

"That's why I don't talk about politics," he told reporters. "I don't want this distraction."

The Patriots made the trip in 2017, but several key players said they would not attend. Tom Brady, who Trump has long touted as a pal, pulled out at the last second citing personal reasons.

The Philadelphia Eagles were disinvited after Trump found out most players were not going to attend. It was reported only two were going to make the trip.

The majority of Washington Capitals made the short trip after winning the Stanley Cup.

The NBA isn't likely to see its champion in the White House while Trump is in office.

Patch will update this story

(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)